The only stupid Question Is one that does not get asked. The Smartest people in the world got that way by asking questions.
I just read yalls response to the tattoo question. Yes I have tattoos and none of them are kanji or any other foreign language.
With the exception of 3 or 4 people, Yall are a bunch of pompous asses, who seem to wait for the oppurtunity to belittle and impose your moral values on someone.
My Grandfathers best friend survived the Batan death march and Cabunatuan and he would think we were all stupid and wasting our time learning Japanese.
So like beauty, Stupidity is also in the eye of the beholder.
Why would someone waste their life learning the Japanese language and history only to return home to find themselves unemployed. Maybe this is why some of yall are so critical of others, it is the only way you can make yourself feel important.
Why not try to get people, like the guy asking the question about the tattoo, interested in learning Japanese instead of scaring him away.

Calm down. The discussion had nothing to do with whether one should get a tattoo or not. The dissusion is about the silliness of someone being willfully ignorant on a pretty important issue. A tattoo isn't easily erased.

Fair suck of the sav cobber, you aren't dinkum are you. I took a squiz at the link old mate posted but I don't reckon using "yall" to mean "you all" is ridgy didge. Are these seppos all on the turps or do they really speak that way?

Don't complain to me that people kick you when you're down. It's your own fault for lying there

A stupid question is any question asked without making an effort to use the brain first. Anyone who asks questions to avoid the effort of thinking is stupid, and this won't change no matter how many questions are asked.

Smart people didn't only get that way by asking questions, they become smart by thinking.

I think Japanese tattoos are kind of a sore spot for all of us. If it had been any other topic, things might have been different.

The thing with tattoos is, 1) they're permanent, and 2) they are supposed to reflect a part of yourself. That's why people, you know, permanently engrave them in their bodies. I don't think there is any argument that a tattoo is supposed to be meaningful and expressive. So, what does a tattoo in kanji/Japanese say about the person who is sporting it?

If the wearer is studying Japanese/Chinese, comes from Chinese/Japanese/kanji-using ancestry, and/or chooses the character themselves for the personal meaning it holds, that would be a pretty awesome tattoo, with a lot of meaning. It would say something about that person's personal qualities and how they view themselves.

However, if someone has no inside knowledge of Japanese/Chinese, simply wants a symbol because it's 'cool', and/or (most of all) can't even tell if the character is written correctly or how it's pronounced in its native language, what meaning and personal characteristics does that tattoo portray? Ignorance, stupidity and trying to be 'cool' (basically, a sellout or poser).

To recap:

Kanji carefully selected by the wearer, using an intimate knowledge of the characters and their meaning: portays the feeling of an Asian scholar expressing themselves through Chinese characters

Kanji chosen because it looks cool or 'my friend said it means this' : portrays the feeling of an illiterate who can't even read something that is supposed to be meaningful to them.

Therefore, when these types of people come here, they often get treated like someone who can't even read their own name, because essentially that is what they are saying about themselves.

Last edited by keatonatron on Wed 08.30.2006 2:40 am, edited 1 time in total.

Very nicely said Kea-san. This type of response would encourage people to learn, instead of running them off.

I've never had the Tattoo question asked to me... I get the anime artist/programmer one alot though.

Once upon a time I wrote long, thoughtful messages like the one Keatonatron just did. I responded to each person kindly, explaining where they were faulty with their reasoning, and what they should consider if they really wanted to pursue that path.

After the 30th time it gets old. Especially when the person just says "well I'm going to do it! anyways!" or gets mad, or is only looking for someone to confirm their dream or whatever.

Harisenbon wrote:Once upon a time I wrote long, thoughtful messages like the one Keatonatron just did. I responded to each person kindly, explaining where they were faulty with their reasoning, and what they should consider if they really wanted to pursue that path.

After the 30th time it gets old. Especially when the person just says "well I'm going to do it! anyways!" or gets mad, or is only looking for someone to confirm their dream or whatever.

Eventually you get jaded.

And eventually you just give up.

What you should do is write it once then WagaWiki it. Then the next time you can just [wiki=How to Link]link[/wiki] it.

Last edited by paul_b on Wed 08.30.2006 3:52 am, edited 1 time in total.